Marijuana Heads to the Museum: Weed Gets Its Own Exhibit in California

On the face of it, marijuana would seem an odd candidate for a museum exhibit. It’s illegal in most of the country, its past is controversial and its future is uncertain. Yet one museum has mounted a comprehensive exhibit about weed. Altered State: Marijuana in California, which opened last weekend at the Oakland Museum of California, is as thought-provoking as it is titillating and often funny.

Billed as the “first-ever museum exhibition to focus on the topic,” it examines cannabis from 10 different perspectives. A lot of the questions – of economics, politics, law, medicine, recreation, environment, influence on children and more – have no clear answers.

At the center of Altered State, literally and figuratively, are the marijuana plants themselves. On loan from a nursery, they look happy and healthy locked away inside a well-lit terrarium. Because it’s an illegal substance, you can look but not touch, so nearby there’s a separate case fitted with rubber gloves for visitors to handle the leaves and stalks.